Centaur

Nessus

The Abduction of Deianeira by the Centaur Nessus by Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée (1755)

The Abduction of Deianeira by the Centaur Nessus by Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée (1755).

LouvrePublic Domain

Overview

Nessus was one of the Centaurs, a race of half-human, half-horse creatures known for their wild and lustful nature. He met his end when he tried to rape Heracles’ wife, Deianira, while ferrying her across a river; Heracles shot him with one of his famous arrows, tipped with the poisonous blood of the Hydra

But Nessus had his revenge (albeit posthumously): he tricked Deianira into thinking that his blood—now poisoned by the Hydra’s venom—was a love potion. Years later, when she feared that Heracles’ love for her was fading, Deianira smeared Nessus’ poisoned blood on Heracles’ clothing, inadvertently causing him to die in agony.

Etymology

There is no obvious etymology for the name “Nessus” (Greek Νέσσος, translit. Néssos; also attested as Νέσος, translit. Nésos). 

It may be related to the Sanskrit word nāda (“sound, roaring”), which is in turn connected to the Indo-European *ned-ih₂ (“roaring, thundering, rushing”).[1] This etymology suggests the rushing of water (similar to the Greek Neda, the name of a river in Arcadia and its nymph), perhaps reflecting Nessus’ role as a ferryman.

Alternatively, the name may be connected to the Greek verb νέομαι (néomai), meaning “to return”; the similar name “Nestor” is usually thought to be derived from this verb.[2] As Nessus’ name is also attested in Greek as Νέσος (Nésos, with only one sigma), this etymology may have some credence.

Pronunciation

  • English
    Greek
    NessusΝέσσος (translit. Néssos)
  • Phonetic
    IPA
    [NES-uhs]/ˈnɛs əs/

Attributes

Locales

Nessus originally lived with the other Centaurs in Thessaly—primarily on Mount Pelion, on the northeastern coast of Greece. This placed them near Iolcus (the home of Jason), Phthia (the home of Peleus and Achilles), and the kingdom of the Lapiths.

Through battles with various heroes, the Centaurs were driven further and further south. They therefore became associated with regions in the Peloponnese, including the Pholoe Range and Cape Malea. Nessus himself, it was said, wound up at the River Evenus in Aetolia, a region in western Greece just north of the Peloponnese.[3]

Appearance and Abilities

Like the other Centaurs, Nessus was part horse and part man, though these creatures’ form changed over time. In the more popular representation, they were human from the waist up with the body and four legs of a horse. But the original image was somewhat different, with the Centaurs appearing fully human from head to toe but with the trunk and hind legs of a horse growing out of their backside.

This double nature allowed the Centaurs to combine the raw physical strength of an animal with the intellect and reasoning of the human mind. They were extremely strong, but also wild, violent, and lustful. Drinking wine was known to throw them into a frenzy.

Iconography

Nessus’ attack on Deianira was a fairly popular motif in ancient art, especially in vase paintings. In these artistic renditions, Nessus (like the other Centaurs) was often depicted with qualities that accentuated his bestial nature, such as a snub nose and unruly hair and beard.[4]

Attic black-figure neck, name vase of Nessus painter, circa 625-600, BCE

Neck of Attic black-figure vase showing Heracles killing Nessus (identified as “Netos” in the inscription) with his sword. Name vase of the Nessus Painter (ca. 625–600 BCE). National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece.

MarsyasCC BY-SA 2.5

Family

Family Tree

  • Parents
    Father
    Mother
    • Ixion
    • Nephele
  • Siblings
    Brothers

Mythology

Nessus played an important role in the myth of Heracles. In a sense, it was Nessus who was responsible for killing Heracles, though the Centaur was already dead (slain by Heracles) by the time the hero perished.

Nessus originally lived in the mountains of Thessaly in northern Greece, along with the other Centaurs. But they were driven away from their home after their fateful battle with the Lapiths. 

As the story goes, the Centaurs had been invited to the wedding of the Lapith king Pirithous. But the creatures became drunk and, in their frenzy, tried to carry off the women (one Centaur even snatched the bride, called Hippodamia in the common version). This led to a violent battle between the Centaurs and the Lapiths,[6] which ended with the Centaurs being defeated and chased out of Thessaly.[7]

It was said that the Centaurs eventually settled further south, in the Peloponnese. There they soon battled another hero, the great Heracles. Heracles had come to the home of the Centaurs to visit his friend Pholus, one of the few Centaurs who was not a violent beast. 

During Heracles’ stay, the other Centaurs caught a whiff of the wine he was drinking and went wild. They attacked the hero but were beaten back, suffering heavy losses. Again the Centaurs were chased away from their home, scattering to various locations; Nessus traveled to the River Evenus in Aetolia, where he ended up working as a ferryman.[8]

Many years later, Nessus would meet Heracles again—and this time the Centaur would not escape with his life. Heracles was traveling with his wife, Deianira, and needed to cross the River Evenus. Heracles, of course, was able to get himself across by simply swimming, but he asked Nessus to ferry Deianira across (either in a boat or, as often in artistic depictions, on his back).

Nessus, driven by the unthinking lust so characteristic of his kind, tried to rape or run off with the beautiful Deianira as he was ferrying her across the river. In response, Heracles shot him with an arrow that had been dipped in the poisonous blood of the Hydra (the many-headed serpent Heracles had fought and killed as his second labor).[9] In some versions, however, Heracles killed Nessus with his club rather than his bow and arrow.[10]

hercules Hyllus Deianira Nessus fresco, house of the centaur, first century CE

Fresco from the House of the Centaur in Pompeii showing Hercules carrying his son Hyllus with Deianira and Nessus (first century CE). National Archeological Museum, Naples, Italy.

Marie-Lan NguyenPublic Domain

As he was dying, Nessus deceived Deianira into keeping a vial of his blood, which had mingled with the Hydra’s poison: he told her that if she ever feared that Heracles’ love for her was waning, or that he loved another woman, she could use this concoction as a powerful love charm. 

In one tradition, Nessus did not die right away. Instead, he fled to a nearby town, where he died and was eventually buried. But as his body rotted it gave off a foul odor, from which the place got its name: Ozolian Locris, or “Stinking Locris.”[11]

Years later, Heracles did fall in love with another woman, the princess Iole, and Deianira decided to use Nessus’ “love charm.” She smeared some of the poisoned blood on one of Heracles’ shirts. As soon as Heracles put it on, the Hydra’s poison infected him, and he began writhing in terrible agony. He finally died by having his followers burn him on a pyre, after which he became a god.[12]

Pop Culture

Nessus has appeared in a number of contemporary adaptations of Greek mythology. In Disney’s animated Hercules, for instance, Nessus is the first opponent the hero must face (though in this retelling, it is Megara rather than Deianira whom he rescues). The Centaur has also been featured in TV shows such as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and video games such as Titan Quest and Rise of the Argonauts. As in ancient sources, he continues to be represented as a sex-crazed brute. 

References

Notes

  1. Cf. Georg Curtius, Principles of Greek Etymology, trans. Augustus S. Wilkins and Edwin B. England (London: Murray, 1886), 1:290.

  2. E.g., Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 2:1008.

  3. Apollodorus, Library 2.5.4.

  4. Francisco Díez de Velasco, “Nessos,” in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (Zurich: Artemis, 1990), 5:838–47.

  5. Hyginus, Fabulae 34.

  6. Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.307–8.

  7. On the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, see Homer, Iliad 2.741ff, Odyssey 21.295ff; Hesiod, Shield of Heracles 178ff; Diodorus of Sicily,Library of History 4.69–70; Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.210ff; Apollodorus, Epitome 1.21–22; Plutarch, Life of Theseus 30; etc.

  8. Diodorus of Sicily, Library of History 4.12; Apollodorus, Library 2.5.4.

  9. Sophocles, Trachiniae 564ff; Diodorus of Sicily, Library of History 4.36.3ff; Apollodorus, Library 2.7.6; Hyginus, Fabulae 34; etc.

  10. See Bacchylides, frag. 64.26. This version is surprising because it makes it impossible for Deianira to have acquired the Hydra’s poison from Nessus’ blood.

  11. Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.38.1; cf. Strabo, Geography 9.4.8.

  12. See also Bacchylides, Ode 16.33ff; Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.101ff; Seneca, Hercules on Oeta.

Primary Sources

The earliest known references to the myth of Nessus and his ill-fated struggle with Heracles are found in Archilochus (seventh century BCE), but these survive only as fragments (frag. 286 and 288 W). Below is a selected list of surviving sources that describe the myth of Nessus.

Greek

  • Bacchylides (ca. 518–ca. 451 BCE): There are early and important references to Nessus and the death of Heracles in a few of Bacchylides’ poems, including Ode 16.

  • Sophocles (ca. 496–406/405 BCE): The death of Nessus (and his revenge on Heracles) is important to the background of the Trachinian Women.

  • Diodorus of Sicily (ca. 90–ca. 30 BCE): The Library of History summarizes the myth of Nessus in Book 4.

  • Apollodorus (first century BCE/first few centuries CE): The Library, a mythological handbook incorrectly attributed to Apollodorus of Athens, summarizes the myth of Nessus.

  • Strabo (64/63 BCE–ca. 24 CE): There are references to Nessus and his death in the Geography.

  • Pausanias (ca. 110–ca. 180 CE): There are a few references to Nessus in the travelogue the Description of Greece.

Roman

  • Seneca (either 54 BCE–39 CE or 4 BCE–65 CE): The story of the Centaur Nessus and his death informs the plot of the tragedy Hercules on Oeta.

  • Ovid (43 BCE–17/18 CE): The myth of Nessus and his role in bringing about the death of Heracles (or Hercules in Latin) is told in Book 9 of the Metamorphoses. There are also references to the myth in Heroides 9.

  • Hyginus (first century CE or later): The myth of Nessus is summarized in the Fabulae.

Secondary Sources

  • Díez de Velasco, Francisco. “Nessos.” In Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, vol. 5, 838–47. Zurich: Artemis, 1990.

  • DuBois, Page. Centaurs and Amazons: Women and the Pre-History of the Great Chain of Being. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991.

  • Dumézil, Georges. Le Problème des Centaures. Paris: Geuthner, 1929.

  • Frey, Alexandra. “Nessus.” In Brill’s New Pauly, edited by Hubert Cancik, Helmuth Schneider, Christine F. Salazar, Manfred Landfester, and Francis G. Gentry. Published online 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e820900.

  • Gantz, Timothy. “Deianeira, Acheloos, and Nessos.” In Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, 431–34. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993.

  • Griffiths, Alan H. “Centaurs.” In The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th ed., edited by Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow, 297. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

  • Osborne, Robin. “Framing the Centaur: Reading 5th-Century Architectural Sculpture.” In Art and Text in Ancient Greek Culture, edited by Simon Goldhill and Robin Osborne, 52–84. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

  • Smith, William. “Nessus (2).” In A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Spottiswoode and Company, 1873. Perseus Digital Library. Accessed March 10, 2022. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Dnessus-bio-2.

  • Stafford, Emma. “Nessos.” In Herakles, 76–77. New York: Routledge, 2012.

  • Theoi Project. “Nessos.” Published online 2000–2017. https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/KentaurosNessos.html.

Citation

Kapach, Avi. “Nessus.” Mythopedia, March 24, 2023. https://mythopedia.com/topics/nessus.

Kapach, Avi. “Nessus.” Mythopedia, 24 Mar. 2023. https://mythopedia.com/topics/nessus. Accessed on 13 Dec. 2023.

Kapach, A. (2023, March 24). Nessus. Mythopedia. https://mythopedia.com/topics/nessus

Authors

  • Avi Kapach

    Avi Kapach is a writer, scholar, and educator who received his PhD in Classics from Brown University

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